You know...there is a famous picture of Hitler within a joyous Munich crowd in 1914 upon Germany’s declaration of war on her neighbors (you may click on it for enlargement).

Please note the appearance of all those people.

Pleas note how HAPPY AND WELL DRESSED AND PROSPEROUS THEY ALL LOOK!

An ENTIRE MULTITUDE OF THEM!

But why all the joy at war?

Well, with there not having been a big war since the Napoleonic wars of a hundred years before...and the more recent Franco-Prussian War having lasted only 9-months...

...one can barely blame the Europeans for expecting the next war to be just as short and glorious for one side or the other...and more than anything a short and exciting event.

They were not yet counting with the INSANITY of their leaders.

Instead they responded with the JOY and OPTIMISM of a civilized people.

War was, after all....a civilized event...carried out be civilized nations...in a civilized manner...and only for only a short period of time...at which time it would be civilly concluded...for trade to continue.

After all, prolonged war would only stymie the commerce and trade which is what EVERYBODY really wanted .

The ‘historians’ are quick to point out the foolishness of all these happy crowds, cheering the arrival of war.

But were they?

Were they really so foolish to believe that their civilization was civilized...

...instead of foolish, incompetent and brutal?

How were they to know their rulers were willing not only to fight for years on end, but spend their nations into bankruptcy and famine as well?

But before proceeding with this grim and ill-fated twilight, let’s go back to the happy era between 1883 and 1913, shall we?

America became the #1 producer of steel in the world.

Worker’s right were becoming a guarantee.

Consumer safety became paramount.

Women were getting the right to vote and the right to work.

Social services were beginning to appear.

Democracy was in full bloom.

(the concept that Germany and Russia were tyrannical monarchies is a misconception - they were democracies!)

And with all this came a dizzying number of new and revolutionary inventions and patents which rapidly changed society into something wonderful and exciting.

New and exciting inventions seemed to fill the front pages of the numerous newspapers and magazines every month, along with new advances in science and scientific accomplishments.

In 1900 an electrical machine being able to travel underwater - the submarine - was built for all to see...

...while gigantic ships of the air - zeppelins - cruised the sky.

In 1909, one of those flying ‘contraptions’ - airplanes - crossed the English Channel.

While popular entertainment took off with -arcades -theater -movie theaters -comic books -magazines...

...and sporting events of all sorts, like the Olympics and the World Cup Soccer Tournament and even automobile races appeared...

...meanwhile the stores and even giant shopping centers were filled with the products of the industrial revolution - just look at any Sears and Roebuck or Montgomery War catalog of the era (many of which are reprinted and available today) - massive 800 page 2-inch thick catalogs containing just about any product the mind can imagine...

...and numerous amazing stories of wonder filled the book shops and the magazine stands with titles like -20,0000 Leagues Under the Sea -From the Earth to the Moon -Journey to the Center of the Earth -A Floating City, the Aerial Village -the Time Machine -War of the Worlds -First Men on the Moon...

...all assuming to entertain...but also hinting at the scientific wonders that were just over the horizon.

Yes, the early 20th Century, was not only prosperous and happy, but wonderful and fun!

And the prosperity really spread beyond Europe and America.

While a large part of the Third World struggled on under the boot of European Imperialism, a startling portion of independent nations were enjoying life.

Japan was fully industrialized.

Chaotic politics and coups (and the Mexican Revolution) aside..Latin American nations frequently refer to the early 1900‘s as a mini golden age, in which the oligarchy, middle class and the peasants all lived in peace and harmony (in many of these countries, this era of prosperity and progress would through the 1960‘s).

And now...having said all that...let me go back to the original subject of this blog entry: “The Assassination Bureau.”

A movie in Technicolor which takes place in 1910 - an era which it portrays in exquisite and loving detail.

If you can get past the dark-sounding title and cheesy opening song, the movie is a true delight.

The Golden Age of Europe really comes through.

Remember: Europe would NEVER AGAIN have the standard of life and relative wealth that the Europeans had from 1900 to 1913.

True, there are grim moments of dark humor in the movie involving, well, people trying to assassinate each other, but beneath it all is a fun lightheartedness.

However, based on the Jack London book (written in 1910), it reflects the feeling of the era: happy, optimistic, exciting, hopeful, prosperous, eventful, adventurous and fun.

In doing so, the film is an open representation of the REALITY versus the LIE the historians have painted of the most prosperous era in European history.

Europe was in its Golden Age.

Europe had it all!

I invite the reader to search pictures of this era under Google Images using the search term “1910.”

But this era is all but forgotten today and skipped over in history class, overshadowed by the DISASTER of the First World War.

Gone is the wonder, prosperity, progress and dynamism of the late 19th and early 20th Century.

“The Assassination Bureau” is (in spite of its grim title) a glorious presentation of this fantastic and wondrous world before the War.

The trolleys, the streets, the taverns, the restaurants, the museums, the hotels, the boats, the clothing, the people, the zeppelins.